Squatting - what is your opinion?

I would like to see it criminalised. Admittedly, many of these properties have been abandoned, but many more are awaiting redevelopment etc. and these people are delaying this: often preventing others who are following legitimate channels to find accommodation, from getting it. Too many people in the UK seem to have the attitude that they deserve something for nothing. Well, it's paid for somehow. Usually by me! And I'm not earning the so-called average wage. Indeed- the new benefit ceiling (£500 nett- £650 gross)is above my earnings.

Hi OldChem, I really don't know a whole lot about squatters but I am thinking that from what little I've read on them that they are basically homeless people and this is how they survive? They are just doing whatever they can to get by. If that is the case then I don't see it as a crime but rather a sad situation. I'm guessing their living conditions are substandard at best? I guess I would have to know a little more about them to understand why they would be considered criminal. I understand that they are setting up in properties that don't belong to them and not paying rent but it's been my understanding that these are generally buildings that are vacant and unfit? Am I wrong?

In recent months there's been a celebrity and his spouse who've been accused of Squatting. http://blogs.findlaw.com/celebrity_justice/2010/09/randy-quaid-arrest-found-squatting-with-wife.html I guess times are tough for B list celeb's too! And yes it is illegal and from the sounds of it they probably couldn't even afford to pay rent anywhere.

There are some cases of squatting for extortion or where people have taken over someone's home and trashed it. Whilst the squatting itself is a civil offence (now there's a contradiction in terms!), many of the activities associated with it such as breaking and entering, criminal damage, theft, etc are not. When the police say "we are powerless" this isn't actually the case. However, there are quite a number or squatters who squat because they are desperate and as a form of political and social protest. These people take over large properties in rich areas that have been left empty, sometimes for years.

I guess you know the story of what happened in Australia. These days, it's unheard of. Back in the earlier years before laws could be properly established & firmly enforced, squatting was practiced by big landowners who became very wealthy as a result. It was almost impossible for authorities to forcibly remove squatters & would have been a waste of their time to do so. The country needed settlers at the time, so also couldn't discourage them. Squatters in those early years also had to defend themselves against native attacks. I'm not trying to defend squatters, on the contrary. My forefathers settled in South Australia as free selectors who paid a premium price for their poor quality land. Squatters were very much looked down upon for their stolen wealth for generations. They had amassed vast fortunes over the generations & invested it very well, both in their own education & their many estates, family, etc. No-one else could compete with them. They influenced government policies, war efforts, trade policies, town development & opened up Australia in a decentralized, but well-organized fashion. That being said, & you may also have your own take on the matter, but I can't make up my mind one way or the other. The squatters here were not poor people to begin with & had big plans for their future. So the situation here is entirely different. Hopefully England will develop a creative & acceptable response to the issue.

This happens a lot in India, oldchem. But more with vacant lands than buildings. Mostly, people buy vacant lands and keep them without doing any construction. If it lies like that for some time without anybody taking care of it or constructing any building, then there are people who put up a hut or a temporary structure and claim the land as theirs even though the documents are in your name. Evicting them would be a big process making you spend time, money and effort by going to the court or opting for paying them to vacate. There are unscrupulous people who do this as a business itself! So, we always have to be careful when we buy vacant lands here. Even though it is illegal, people still do it and create trouble for the land owners.

Well sadly, i am in a place where squatting is becoming a business nowadays.Some people would try to squat on a place and when they are already quite settled, as a squatter, they have their place for rent.And some would migrate to the big city and find a place where they can stay, through squatting. I think squatting is related to poverty and is a social problem. Many demolitions have been violent and has cost lives, and in the end,its just hard to figure out whose responsible for such bad incidents.